Pride and Protection
by Kikiah Abarai
Summary: Renji Abarai is a father struggling to make life work for him and his son. But what happens when an unexpected rival tries to interfer with his life? I have no clue where this story came from... it just happened. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

"Bonge Bob!" The excited toddler shouted while sitting on his father's chest.

"Bonge Bob!" he cried again. The large redhead continued to snore. "Papa," The baby slammed his tiny hands down forcefully against his father's tattooed chest. This time, the redhead learched forward, obviously out of shock. He blinked a few times to focus his vision before turning his attention to the toddler on his stomach.

"The hell Sasuke? What time is it?" He yawned rubbing sleep from his eye. Careful not to let the baby slide off his abdomn, Renji reached for the nightstand and grabbed the alarm clock, it read 6:47. He let out a sigh which earned him another frustrated slap on the chest from Sasuke. Renji redirected his attention to his son who was glaring at him with large turquiose eyes. "Bonge Bob!" He cried again.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard ya the first time." The redhead grumbled. He scooped the baby underneth his arm and dragged himself out of bed. "It's Saturday ya know, Spongebob ain't even on right now." Renji tried to reason with the child as he changed his diaper in the bathroom. The baby giggled as he was changed, knawing on a teething ring close by. The young father had finished changing the boy and had begun preparing for his day. After brushing his teeth and washing his face Renji carried Sasuke into the living room of the small apartment they sharred. He set the boy down in front of the TV and switched on 'Spongebob Squarepants'.

"Bonge Bob!" Sasuke shouted excitedly.

"Heh, yeah 'Bonge Bob'." Renji chuckled warmly as he started on his morning coffee.

This was a normal morning in the Abarai household. Sasuke waking his father up at an ungodly hour and Renji tending to his needs, whatever they may be. He was so used to it that if Sasuke didn't come wake him up he knew something was wrong. He was still young, a year and seven months. He had walking down, getting him to say more than a few words was still taking time.

"Papa! Bonge Bob!" The toddler cried. He really liked Spongebob, then again, what child didn't? "Yeah, Bonge Bob and Pat Rick and Swidy are all havin' fun under the sea." Renji patronized the boy. He could smell the coffee, it was ready. Renji could not start his day without coffee, it was like his crack. After pouring his first cup, Renji made his way to the couch where he found Sasuke giddily bouncing along to the Campfire Song Song. Personally he couldn't stand the over enthusiastic sponge, but if it put a smile on his boy's face he'd suffer through it.

A loud, almost obnoxious, rap song started playing and Sasuke started whining. "Na na!" He whined. It was Renji's cell phone. "Calm down it's about to go off." The redhead said grabbing the sleak, black elcetronic device. The caller ID read 'Her'. "Jesus, what the hell does she want?" The tattooed man asked himself. He wanted to click the ignore button but he didn't feel like dealing with the 50 calls that would come afterwards, so he answered it.

"What?" Was the only greeting the woman on the other end recived.

"Well hello to you too, sweetie." The woman on the other line greeted.

"Don't call me sweetie, whaddya want?"

"Aw, don't be like that, I just wanted to know how you and Sousuke were."

"It's Sasuke and none of yer damn buisness. If that's all you wanted I'm hanging up now." Renji was close to tapping the 'end' button before he was stopped.

"No no no, wait wait wait! Look, I was wondering if you'd let me borrow some mon-"

"No! You can't borrow shit!" Renji howled cutting her off. "You really have the balls to call and ask me for anything after what you did, fuck you! Stop calling me, bitch!" Renji had hung up the phone. He rubbed his temples in an attempt to release the anger without hitting anything. That woman was, by far, the biggest mistake of his life.

After letting out a long sigh, the redhead felt a tug on his pant leg. He looked down to see a pair of sad turquise eyes starring up at him. "Papa." Sasuke whimpered. He didn't like when his dad raised his voice, it scared him. "It's alright, Sa." Renji lifted the whimpering toddler into his lap and stroked his hair, an action that always calmed him. "Everything's gonna be okay, no more bad lady, okay." After a few minutes Sasuke had calmed down and was silently sitting in his father's lap watching Kung Fu Panda.

"Hey, you hungry?" The redhead asked smiling at the smaller brunette. The olive-skinned toddler nodded and let himself be carried into the kitchen. Renji set him in his high-chair and begun preparations on Sasuke's favorite breakfast, strawberry and creme oatmeal with mashed bananas and tayaki. If Sasuke took anything from Renji, it was his taste in food. He loved sweets and tayaki and hated spicy things, just like his father.

Sasuke watched wide-eyed as his father moved around the tiny kitchen. The microwave was his best friend at the moment. So far, Renji had Sasuke's food ready and his food almost done. He set the finished breakfast infront of the baby, making sure to add his favorite Spongebob spoon and sippy-cup. Sasuke started eating his microwaved breakfast, loosing interest in watching his father move around the kitchen. A few moments later, Renji was sitting across from the boy, chomping on his own meal of leftover tayaki and freshly made scrambled eggs.

The breakfast conversation varied with Sasuke. It'd either be about Spongebob, food or what he wanted to do that day. So far they had agreed to pay Uncle Ichi and Auntie Ruki a visit so he could play with Kaien and Masaki. After Sasuke over-excitedly knocked the majority of his breakfast to the floor, Renji had cleaned it up and shared a bath with the boy.

"Masi an Kai Kai!" Sasuke had shouted splashing bubbles everywhere.

"Calm down n' hold still, I don't wanna get soap in your eyes." Renji breathed as he tried washing the giddy toddler's hair.

After drying and dressing, the father-son duo exited the tiny shamble of an apartment and made their way to the Kurosaki-Kutchiki household. The drive was long and torturous because Sasuke cried about forgeting Pochi, his favorite plush elephant. Even putting on the stupid fucking Spongebob CD he'd paid 30 dollars for didn't stop his shrieks for Pochi. He didn't have enough gas to turn back and go back home to get the stupid blue elephant so he decided suffering through was the best bet.

"Dear God Sasuke, shut up, please." Renji begged silently dropping his head on the steering wheel. Finally, the ordeal ended when the redhead parked outside of a small mansion. It was much different and bigger than the tiny two-bedroom apartment Renji shared with his son. He sometimes envyed his best friend for having more, but those thoughts vanished when the door opened and his bright orange haired friend greeted him with the same cocky smile he always did.

"Yo Ren, what's up?" Ichigo greeted warmly taking the diaper bag offered to him by Renji.

Before the redhead could answer, Sasuke wailed to Ichigo about his missing Pochi. "Unky Itsi, no Pochi!" The toddler bawled. He clutched even harder to his father's leather jacket, whipping snot and mucus all over his shoulder.

"Please, take him... now." The tattooed redhead growled to his friend. Ichigo shot him a 'I feel bad for you' smile and took the sobbing child from his embrace. Sasuke seemed to calm down once Ichigo told him Kaien and Masaki were in the playroom.

"I gotta get to work so can ya watch 'em for a while?" Renji asked when Sasuke ran off to play with the other children.

"Yeah. Don't get hurt, I don't feel like explaining to your kid why his daddy is full of holes." Ichigo said sarcastically.

"Haha, very fuckin' funny. I know alright, I'll be fine." Renji kissed Sasuke goodbye, assuring him he'd be back in a little while. He waved bye to Ichigo and the kids then left for work.


	2. Chapter 2

Ichigo had good reason to tell his old friend to be careful, drug slinging was a dangerous job. His evening was spent dealing coke to about 12 addicts, crack to another 5 and making sure a large shipment of heroine made it to a man named 'Taichou'. Not to mention the 17 bags of angeldust laced weed he'd sold to some teenages who said they wanted to "party". Overall the night was going smoothly. No cops and only one or two people tried to run off without paying, _tried_.

Around 11:30 was when the hookers started coming around, and every night he worked, he made sure to look for one particular girl. She was known as Kikiah, a frequent user of crack cocaine, Renji was always her dealer. She was one of the more successful hoes, being that her body was still young and relativly perfect since she was only about 20. Renji had come to enjoy her company at nights, she worked the same corner where he sold. I guess you could call it a partnership of some sorts. She'd help sell his dope and he'd give her a portion of his earnings. In some weird way it worked out.

"Yo, hoe." The redhead greeted his companion. She scofted and threw a weak punch at his arm. He rubbed the spot pretending like it hurt.

"I told you not to call me that. I have many names, n' hoe ain't one of 'em" She grumbled glaring at her redheaded friend. Renji chuckled and opened a pack of ciggarettes, his and Kikiah's favorite brand. He tapped the box before taking one then handed it to the chocolate-skinned prostitute who repeated the process.

The navy haired woman took a long drag from her cancer stick before speaking again. "I thought tonight was yer night off." She said blowing smoke.

"Yeah well," Renji took a drag from his ciggarette, "I gotta buy Sasuke some new clothes, it's gettin' colder n I don't want 'em to freeze, ya know."

"So your doin' this for yer kid?" Kikiah asked while striking a pose on the corner.

"Somethin' like that, I don't wanna think of it like that since everyhing that's happened. Sellin' this shit is kinda how I got 'em in the first place." The redhead sighed thinking about the memories of how Sasuke came to be.

That night was still a haze but he remembered going to some club with one of his _clients._ He got really drunk and broke a major rule in the world of drugs, never get high off your own supply. The rest of the night was a jumble of body parts, (including male), drugs and alcohol which lead him to pass out. The morning after, he woke up with the second biggest hangover of his life, his ass feeling like someone had shoved razor blades and lemon juice up there and on top of that, his cock was still inside the client from the night before. After finding out she was pregnant, Renji made it his life's work to make sure she got proper medical care, and no dope. Of course she slipped through every now and again but overall she stayed clean.

He remembered that night in the hospital, her screaming for 17 hours before the baby finally came out. Suprisingly, the baby came out healthy. Unfortunately, later that night his mother had snuck out after being cleaned up, leaving an 18 year old Renji alone to raise a newborn. At first he'd contemplated giving the kid up for adoption, saying that he didn't need or want a kid right then. But when the nurse had handed him the tiny, pink infant and he stared at him with big, glassy blue eyes, Renji couldn't bare the thought of letting him go. With help and support from his friends, (most of whom already had children), Renji was able to make a meager living for him and Sasuke.

"Earth to Big Red!" Kikiah said tapping the daydreaming Renji on his forehead.

"Huh, what is it?" He asked coming out of his memories.

"I said, I'll be back in an hour, don't get hurt because I don't feel like luggin' yer big ass all the way to Central Medical." She reiterated smirking.

"Yeah yeah, go make him love you long time." He chuckled.

Kikiah rolled her eyes and got into the expensive looking Cadilac in front of her. Renji hadn't even noticed it roll up. He watched it drive away, thinking to himself about how the horny prick better not hurt Kikiah. She'd been his friend for a while, he'd started selling the same time she started working, so about five years now. When she found out about him getting some bimbo pregnant, she'd kicked his ass for days. She even seemed a little hurt that he'd gotten some other chick knocked up. She helped none the less, watching Sasuke whenever something came up on a night she wasn't working.

Renji shook his head at the thought of Kikiah being a mother; her in a dress with bunny slippers cleaning the house with a kid hanging from her hip, the thought was to funny. His dreams were interupted by the buzz of his cell. The ID read 'Ichigo' and showed a picture of his familir orange-haired friend with troll-face, he'd done it on a dare and now it was his caller ID on Renji's phone. The redhead chuckled warmly at the photo while answering the phone.

"Yo Berry, wassup?" The tattooed man greeted.

"I told you not to call me that you ass, anyway, Sasuke started crying saying he misses you so I thought letting him talk to you would calm him down." Ichigo stated. You could clearly hear a child's uncontrolable sobs in the backround, Renji could even make his toddler's cries of "I wan' Daddy!"

The redhead sighed, everytime he left Sasuke for more than a few hours he started bawling uncontrolably. "Alright, you know, just once I'd like ya to call an' say that he's fine, just fine, not crying." Renji breathed out.

Ichigo chuckled in return. "Maybe one day soon hopefully." There was a shuffle over the phone and then the sobs got louder. Soon enough Renji could hear the hickuping sniffles that belonged only to Sasuke Abarai.

"Hey little man, why're ya cryin'?" The redhead asked in his nicest dad voice.

"I 'hick' mi-miss d-daddy!" The toddler sniffled. He was so cute, even when sobbing like a baby.

"Aw, hey daddy'll be there soon, alright. A little while longer okay. But ya gotta stop cryin' or else you'll make Masi and Kai Kai upset, too." Renji said trying to console his wailing toddler.

"O-Okay dabby." He sniffed. Sasuke always mispronounced words due to the face he was still one and because he was crying, it made him all the more adorable.

"That's my boy, now you be good for Uncle Ichi and Auntie Ruki, alright. I'll see ya in a lil' while, I love you, bye-bye."

"I wove you too! Bye daddy!" Sasuke cooed. He'd stopped crying and was now back to the excited little bundle of giggles he normally was.

After another shuffle Ichigo came back on. "I didn't know you knew magic Renji; we've been trying to calm 'em down for the past 20 minutes but after 5 seconds on the phone with you he's all smiles again. Magical bastard." Ichigo joked.

"Heh, well he's my kid, it's only natural that I know how to calm 'em down." The redhead boasted.

"Whatever, thanks anyway, see ya later."

"See ya." They both hung up.

"Jesus Christ, when'd I get so fuckin' soft?" The redhead asked himself after dropping his head into his hands.

"I dunno, but I bet I can make ya nice 'n hard again..." A familiar voice said from behind him.

Renji jumped at the sudden comment, stumbling back a few feet. "Fuck Grimmjow when'd you get here?" Renji asked the tall teal-haired man.

"Long enough Red," Grimmjow responded chucking under his breath. "Now back ta you bein' soft, anyway I can help?" The blue-haired pimp asked quirking a blue brow.

"Heh heh, no not really, unless you know how ta make kids stop cryin' so damn much." The redhead said nervously. Grimmjow always made him feel on edge; maybe it was because he was one of the most relentless pimps in the whole city, maybe it was because Grimmjow had had a crush on him since high school, or maybe it was because Grimmjow had been trying to "employ" him for the past few years.

"Yeah well, can't help ya there buddy. My number one rule is don't cum without a condom." Grimmjow said putting his hands behind his head. "So where's that cute lil' hoe that's always hangin' 'round ya?"

"Don't call her that." Renji sighed. Though he would call Kikiah a hoe it would only be out of fun, in truth he didn't enjoy when other people reffered to her as a "hoe", it didn't suit her.

"Oh, then what am I supposed ta call her, eh? Whore? Prostitute? Bitch? Slu-"

"Your just supposed to call her Kikiah alright!" Renji exclaimed.

"Fine, where's _Kikiah_?" The blue-haired man corrected himself.

"Working," Renji said flatly. "And if ya don't mind I'd like to get back ta work, too."

"Aw, don't be like that, I just-" Grimmjow cut himself off when he noticed a whore mouthing off to a customer across the street. "I gotta go, bitch is messin' with my money." He said rather coldly. He shuffled past the redhead and smoothly walked across the street toward the small altercation, leaving Renji to ponder his taste in friends.

Renji found his pack of ciggarettes in his pocket and put one to his lips. He found the sliver lighter in the same pocket and lit the stick. _Wonder where Kikiah is?_ He asked himself. It had been well over an hour and Renji was starting to get bored, and hungry. Just as he was about to decide what restaurant he'd treat Kikiah to, his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a text.

_Hey red, just wnted to let u no u can go home. I went out partying with the client and sum friends. Srry. Ill see ya later. - Kikiah_

The tattooed redhead sighed and dug his ciggarette into the bottom of his shoe to put it out. _So much for treatin' her._ He thought. After checking the time, Renji decided it was best to head home; maybe Rukia had made something and graciously made him a plate. He drooled at the thought of a home-cooked meal. He hadn't had one in a really long time. Finally convinced that he was getting a home-cooked meal, Renji got in his car and headed toward the fancy neighborhood where his friends lived.

It was late by the time he got to Ichigo and Rukia's place, nearly 2 in the morning. He was tired and and the only thing that fueled him to go farther was the thought of food. After a while he'd finally made it to the small mansion-like house. He slowly made his way up the path to the door, his body felt heavy and he had a headache. Renji banged the door about six times before Rukia answered, not looking to happy to see him.

"What the hell Renji! Do you know what time it is?" She whispered angrily.

"Yeah, almost two, so?" The redhead mumbled, his voice filled with sleep.

The small raven-haired woman narrowed her eyes at the tattooed man before smacking him rather hard.

"OW! What the fuck was that for?" He grumbled angrily rubbing the back of his skull where he'd been hit.

"That's for showing up here late as all hell acting like everything's all hunky-doory, baka!" She whispered again. "Now come inside before you wake the neighbors, idiot." Rukia tightened the sash for her robe and grabbed Renji by the ear, effectively dragging him into the house.

"Ow ow ow! Lemme go!" He protested.

"I swear it's like having an extra kid to raise." Rukia mulled under her breath. She dragged him to the kitchen and sat him down. Without saying a word, Rukia took a plastic-wrapped plate from the fridge. Taking off the plastic, she shoved the cold food into the mircowave and clicked '3'.

"Why are you so damn late Renji, was it that good of a night?" Rukia asked pouring juice into a sippy cup.

"Not really, guess I just lost track of time, ya know." He responded eyeing the food heating in the microwave hungrily.

"No Renji," Rukia slammed the sippy cup down in front of him. "I don't know. You can't keep doing this every other night. If he's not with us then he's with one of your other friends. Quite frankly I think Sasuke spends more time with others then he does with you, and thats not a good thing." The microwave beeped and the raven-haired woman went to retreve the now heated food.

"What're ya tryna say Rukia, that I'm a bad father?" Renji asked defensivly. He knew he wasn't always there when Sasuke needed him, hence earlier that night, but at least he tried damn it. Due to his line of work, he couldn't always be there for Sasuke, that tore him up insode. He loved his son more than anything in the world and would do anything he could for him. That was why he was in that line of work, to try and make enough money so he'd always be able to support his child. Granted it wasn't the smartest or the safest line of work, but it put food on the table and clothes on their backs.

"No Renji, I'd never say that, but I do think you should spend more time with him." Rukia set a large plate of food down in front of the redhead. Smoked mackeral in miso sauce with fried chicken and a large bowl of rice, and a sippy cup filled with grape juice, yum.

Once given a pair of chopsticks Renji started chowing down, chomping and slurping was all that was heard. "Thank for the meal, it was freaggin' amazing," he said satisfied rubbing his now full belly. "And I know, I've been tryna work on spendin' time with 'em, just been so much goin' on lately I guess I haven't had the chance." He took a long swig from the sippy cup, to lazy to mention that it wasn't the right cup.

"Well you should start, I have enough trouble with Kaien and Masaki, Sasuke on top of them would make want to shoot myself." Rukia joked.

Renji gave a small laugh before a short, comforatable silence consumed the two young parents. Renji let out a long sigh before his next statment. "You know, _she_ called me this morning."

"Naomi?"

"Yup."

"What the hell did she call for? Money again?" Rukia asked angrily.

"You know it." Renji breathed out.

Naomi Kasukara, otherwise known as Sasuke's mother. She was the woman Renji ahd impregnated that awful night. After several test they had proved that Renji was Sasuke's biological father. Naomi was the crack whore that left the night after her child was born and never looked back. She called occationally for money or 'favors'. Renji hated her with a passion, he regretted ever even going with her that night. A regret that had stayed with him until this day. He really wished Kikiah had been Sasuke's mother, not that whore.

"Next time I see her I'm gonna kill her." Rukia grumbled angrily.

"No Rukia, we can't have ya goin' to jail, to many people rely on ya. Look, I told her ta stop callin' so she'll probably stay away for a while, it's no big deal." Renji alwasy brushed off her attempts to get money, even though inside he wanted to wring her neck.

"I don't fucking care, she needs to be dealt with." Rukia growled.

"Just calm down alright, don't get so worked up, she's not your prob-"

"Mama..." Renji was cut off by the sleepy squeak of little Kaien Kurosaki, the older of Ichigo and Rukia's two year old twins. He stood in the kitchen doorway rubbing his right eye while holding a purple blanket and a lion plushy he called 'Kon'.

Rukia slid over to the teetering child and let him fall in her arms. "What's wrong sweetie, did you have a bad dream?" She asked in a sweet, motherly voice. Renji found the sudden switch hilarious, he started laughing into his hand as if it was the funniest thing in the world. Rukia shot him an 'Oh shut up!' glare before turning her attention back to the half asleep child in her embrace.

"I wan juice." Kaien slurred.

"Oh alright." Rukia said patting his head. She sat the toddler in Renji's lap as she went to prepare his juice. "Look Renji, I don't like the thought of that woman coming back into your life, or anyone's for that matter. I know you know how to protect what's yours, but just be careful, girls like her are unpredictable." The raven-haired woman warned her friend as she gave a sippy cup to the child in his lap.

"I know Rukia, you know, ya sound like my mom." Renji chuckled. He started holding the sippy cup for Kaien since he was letting it fall.

"Tch, it's cause I've had to act like your mom since we were kids, baka." She laughed.

They sat together a while longer until Kaien fell asleep in the redhead's lap. Rukia led Renji to Kaien's room, a room he shared with his twin and, whenever he came over for the night, Sasuke. Renji set the child on a pile of pillows next to Masaki and Sasuke. It was a beautiful sight, Kaien and Masaki facing each other with their smaller companion curled up inbetween them. Renji took the opportunity to snap several pictures with his phone, promising Rukia he'd send them to her in the morning. After turning down all of Rukia's invitations to stay the night, Renji gathered Sasuke's stuff and prepared to leave.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay the night, we have a lot of room." Rukia offered again already know her friend would turn it down.

"Na it's okay, if it's alright with you I'd like to sleep in my own bed tonight, thanks anyway. And thanks for lookin' after him, I dunno what I'd do without you an' Berry." He said hugging the small female with his free arm.

"It was no problem, we're here anytime you need us." Rukia whispered softly.

They said another goodbye before Renji was on his way, Sasuke dead asleep in one arm and his diaper bag slung over the other shoulder. The redhead made his way to the silver Honda Acord he owned and opened the backseat door. After a quick battle with strapping Sasuke in, Renji was finally able to strap himself in and take the long, agonizing ride back home. He was starting to regret his decision not to spend the night with the Kurosakis. He turned the radio on, low enough not to wake Sasuke but loud enough to keep himself awake. It was rock music, the pounding beats and bass were enough for him to keep his eyes open just a little while longer.


	3. Chapter 3

**This is chapter 3 I supose. Well I don't really know what this turned into but I guess its gonna be yaoi. Please comment if u like, or if you have any ideas on how it should go. Enjoy :)**

By the time they got home it was close to 3:30. Renji could barely find the strength to get out of the car, let alone make it to the sixth floor and down the hall to apartment 609. When Sasuke made a whinny sound from inside the car seat Renji knew he couldn't just sleep at the wheel. With a grumble and a tired groan Renji managed to free the baby from his seat and make the trip upstairs. Luckily the doorman didn't ask him to sign in, so he went straight to the elevators. Sasuke clutched onto his father's jacket and whinned a little bit.

"Calm down we're almost home..." Renji trailed off.

They finally reached the apartment, it's dingy wooden door was barely still on the hinges, he had to fix that. Renji nearly fell over when he tried to get the door open, god these long nights were hard. Finally opening the door, the exauhsted redhead stumbled inside dropping all the things in his arms, excluding Sasuke of course. The loud clatter startled Sasuke from his near comatose state making his wail angrily.

"Ah shit..." Renji sighed. _Smart move Renji, make noise, that always calms kids down._ He thought. "Calm down, calm down, please god calm the hell down." The tattooed father begged the screaming infant. He bounced his on his shoulder and paced in a circle around the small apartment, Sasuke just continued the wail. It was almost four in the morning and Sasuke was now wide awake.

"Oh my fucking god shut him up!" A rough raspy voice said from the doorway.

Renji turned to see the stranger in the doorway. It was a young man, he was a little shorter than Renji and had short, spiky dark hair. His eyes gleamed in the dark a hint of anger hidden behind his dark colored eyes. His teeth were gritted and his fists were clenched. The redhead was about to question the strange man standing in his doorway bossing him around but stopped suddenly when he entered the apartment. He marched toward Renji and grabbed the sceaming child from his embrace.

"Who the-What the fuck doya think yer doin'?" Renji wailed.

The man held up a finger as if to shush the redhead. Renji shut up for some strange reason and watched as the spiky-haired man calmed Sasuke down. He bounced the boy and rubbed soothing circles on his back. Instead of crying even more because he was away from his father, Sasuke actually started to get quiet. Renji stood shocked at the strangr putting his son to sleep. In the next instant Sasuke was back in Renji's arms, sleeping like rock.

"Keep 'em quiet, some of us like to sleep at night." The stranger scoofted before leaving.

Renji couldn't wrap his head around it but he was to tired to care right now. The redhead simply shut the door and made his way to the bedroom he shared with Sasuke. He kissed Sasuke's forehead before setting him in the tiny hand-me-down crib. Renji flopped on his bed, tired from the day. He was about to pass out when his phone gave off it's normal obnoxious ringtone.

"Gah! Who the hell is it?"

The redhead looked at caller ID, it was a message from Rukia, probably wondering if he got home okay. Deciding she could wait til tomorrow, Renji stripped from his dirted clothes and crawled back in bed, passing out alomst instantly.

The next morning was the same as all others, Sasuke sitting on him jabbing his little baby fists into his chest, this time he was chanting "Elmo! Elmo!"

"Ugh... Why are you awake?" Renji grumbled grogily.

"Elmo!" He shouted louder, covering his father in a shower of drool.

"Ewww gross!" Renji exclaimed like a grossed out teenager. Sasuke just giggled and yelled some more. To get his yelling to stop, Renji fished around the covers until he found the remote. Without looking, he turned on the power and spun Sasuke toward the television, luckily a cartoon was on so it kept his attention.

Sasuke let himself side off his father's muscular chest and onto the bed. His eyes never left the comical antics of Tom and Jerry. Renji decided to use this time to get a few more minutes rest. All was calm, Renji was able to get more than a few minutes of sleep, actually, he got well over an hour's worth of slumber. The only bad thing was that when he woke up Sasuke wasn't there. It took him a minute to realize it, of course when he did he almost had a heart attack.

"Shit! Sasuke!" Renji jumped from the bed and scrambled out of the room, checking to make sure he wasn't stepping on the little guy as he went. He was relived and terrified when he saw his son attepmting to crawl up the counter. He was grabbing onto a dish cloth that was held down by a big pot that was getting dangerously close to the edge of the counter. Acting fast, Renji scooped the baby up before the pot had time to fall on his head.

"Ohmygod, thank god your alright." The redhead said clutching to Sasuke's tiny frame. The baby pushed himself off of his father's shoulder to look him in the eyes. He started to smile.

"Hi daddy!" The toddler greeted waving to Renji. With a little defeat, Renji dropped his head letting it land on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Hi Sasuke." The redhead sighed. Sasuke giggled as he patted his father's head. There was a knock the door, interrupting their father-son moment.

"Who zat?" Sasuke asked looking at his father.

"Dunno, let's check it out." Renji said joseling Sasuke in his arms. He was rewarded with a giggle as they made their way to the door.

The redhead swung the door open to meet a tall man in a clean pressed suit with spiky black hair that jutted from his scalp. He had dark-grey eyes and three diagonal scars down his left eye and a suggestive 69 across his right cheek. A ciggarette hung between his lips and their was no tie with the suit. He looked really handsome.

"S'cuse me, can I help you?" Renji asked trying not rape the man with his eyes.

He took the cancer stick from his lips and looked the redhead in the eyes. "Uh, sorry about last night..." He trailed off taking his gaze away.

It took him a moment to remember then he realized, this was the bastard that came in his house and lifted Sasuke right out of his arms! And it was the guy who calmed him down at four in the morning. Renji was torn between punching him in the face or thanking him. So he went with his gut feeling a did both. Renji punched the handsome man then grabbed his shirt and dragged him inside. He threw the man in a chair then put Sasuke in his playpen.

"Ow! What the fuck was that for?" The spiky-haired man hollered rubbing his cheek.

"That was for bustin' in my house and taking my kid away!"

"But he-"

"I'm not done. I wanted to thank ya too. If ya hadn't calmed 'em down I'm sure he'd still be cryin' even now. So thanks..." Renji said turning away from him.

"Well whatever, I just wanted to apoligize. Didn't think I'd het punched though." He said still rubbing his cheek.

"Um thanks... uh, what's yer name?" Renji asked.

"Shuuhei Hisagi, you?"

"Renji Abarai," Sasuke made a gurggly yelp from the corner, he didn't like being left out. "and that's Sasuke, my son."

"Bap bap!" The toddler cheered.

Shuuhei chuckled, "What's that mean?"

"I assume it's his version of yay since he heard his name," The redhead said cheerfully. "So how do'ya know how to put kids to sleep like that?"

Shuuhei fiddled in his pocket for something, Renji assumed for his cell, his assumption was correct. It took the dark-haired man a moment to scroll through the data but he eventually found what he was looking for. He didn't say anything as he handed the phone to the redhead who starred indefinatly. It was a photo of Shuuhei holding an infant that looked very much like him.

"Your kid?" The redhead asked.

"Yeah, he's about six months now, name's Kensei." Shuuhei answered taking the phone back. He scrolled through it again before returning it to his pocket.

Before either of them could speak again, a loud 'ping!' interupted them. "It's me," Renji said checking who it was. "Shit, sorry I gotta take this."

"It's cool, I just wanted to apoligize, I'll see you around okay? Maybe we can get a drink sometime." Shuuhei said getting up to leave.

"Sounds good, when?"

"Say Tuesday, 'round eight?"

"Uh, cool, yeah that'll work."

"Alright see ya!" The redhead waved goodbye to his new found friend as he answered his annoying cell.

Shuuhei nodded and exited the apartment. On his way back to his home on the ninth floor, he took out his phone and found the picture he'd shown Renji. His face contorted to one of sadness; he held the phone close to his chest and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "I'm gonna get you back... I promise."

Meanwhile...

"Hello?"

"Renji why didn't you call me when you got home? I was worried sick!" A shrill voice screamed in his ear.

"Sorry, I was dead tired and Sasuke was not making it any easier." The redhead sighed.

"Well you could have at least texted!" Rukia scolded him like she was his mother.

"Sorry mom" Renji said under his breath.

"What was that?" Rukia asked angrily.

"Nothing, so what's up?" Renji asked quickly dismissing the comment.

Rukia paused and decided to ignore the comment, "I wanted to know if you wanted to come with me Ichi and the kids to see his dad." The short raven-haired woman said.

"Eh," Renji remembered the last time he visited the senior Kurosaki. He and Sasuke were damn-near crushed by his energized hugs. Not to mention all the questions about his personal life, the redhead shivered just thinking about it.

"Ugh, maybe next time Rukia. I think I'll go visit Grimm or somethin'." Renji answered sheepishly.

"Hehe, suit yourself, you'll miss Yuzu's hotpot." Rukia giggled.

"While I will miss her cooking, I'd rather be able to breathe than eat, so sorry." The redhead chuckled lifting Sasuke out of the playpen. He sputered and spat at his father and grabbed at the phone. "Damnit Sa, if ya wanted to say hi ya don't have ta drown me in drool."

"Oh is that Sasuke? Lemme say hi!" Rukia pleaded giddily.

Renji put the cell to the toddler's ear and told him it was 'Auntie Ruki'. "Helwo!" The excited Sasuke greeted.

Renji didn't hear much of the conversation considering he was scrambling around the kitchen preparing Sasuke's breakfast. He already had his oatmeal in the microwave when Sasuke's cries for attention couldn't go unnoticed anymore. He was holding out the phone and whinning at the same time. The redhead let out a sigh as he took the cell and the child simultaniously.

"Yo, I'm back." Renji stated sitting Sasuke on the counter so he could get his coffee started.

"We're getting ready to go so I'll talk to you later. Oh and go see my brother sometime today, he has a new shipment in and wanted to discuss distribution with you. Bye-bye!" The phone clicked and left Renji with a full agenda for the day.

"So much for visitin' Grimm. Shit." Renji sighed irritated.

Byakuya Kutchki was the one man Renji idolized, and one of the few men Renji hated dealing with. He was the supplier and Renji was one of his many sellers. In fact, Renji was held second in command to the drug ring Byakuya ran. Before anything hit the streets he and Byakuya had to cut and even out every shipment, with help of cousre. The redhead hated doing this because it took almost all day and he always wound up leaving high on something. Byakuya was Rukia's elder brother, it was the main reason she and Ichigo lived in such a nice house. It was Rukia who told her brother about Renji some two years prior.

Flashback

18 year old Renji Abarai was scared, no, terrified at the situation he was in right now. Fucking Rukia just gave him an address and told him to be there by 3. Now he was sitting in a weird room with two huge brutes starring him down with their enormous dog barking so loud he thought he'd go deaf.

_Fuck me! I'm gonna fucking kill Rukia if I die before my kid is born. Well, haunt her ass!_ Renji thought as he shook violently. In a spilt second the large steel door opened and a handsome man walked in. He looked to be in his late 20s, very well dressed, Renji could tell his clothes were hand made by famous designers he'd probably never even heard of.

The man walked in and gave the redhead a once over, it was not a pretty sight. Due to all the shit he'd been put through over the past few weeks, Renji was a mess. His long red mane was matted and smelly; his face was sunken in and lost all of it's color; he was smelly and dirty, basically he looked like a used rag. The man wrinkled his nose at the sight before him.

"Young man, what is your name?" He asked in a deep yet soothing voice.

"R-Renji Abarai..." The redhead trailed off.

"So your Rukia's friend, eh?"

Renji could only nod in response. Thinking about his apperence compared to this man's he felt ashamed. He knew he hadn't showered in at least a week, his clothes hadn't been washed in about a month and he looked like a homeless man! Renji was really regretting coming here.

The man gave him another once over before snapping his fingers. At that moment, one of the brutes that'd been watching him picked him up and carried him out of the room thrown over his shoulder. Renji wanted to protest but he was to weak from hunger to do much of anything so he just let himself be carried off.

After what seemed like a long walk, the brute who'd been following this mysterious handsome man suddenly stopped. Renji couldn't see in front of him so he assumed they were going to exacute him for being such a smelly bastard. _So long world, so long unborn child, I love you._ Renji thought as he was brought into a large room. The redhead closed his eyes, preparing for the enevitable end. To his surprise, Renji was standing on his own two feet, unharmed.

"Mr. Abarai, I understand that you are an friend of Rukia's and I wish to do buisness with you, but I can not tollerate your physical apperience. So, you will take a bath and you shall recieve clothing that **I **see fit for you to wear, understood?" The man stated rather coldly. Renji again could only nod in response, this was to shameful.

"Alright, please wash and we will have clothes ready for departure. Dinner will be in two hours, that should be enough time for you to get prepared. Feel free to use anything you like." After informing Renji on the conditions of the bathroom, the man left with these parting words. "Ah, I've forgotten my name, how rude. I am Byakuya Kutchiki, you may refer to me as _Taichou_."

Renji stood dumbfounded. What the hell had just happened? A large clock popped up behind him, making him jump hard enough to stumble to the floor. It was a countdown until dinner. _This crazy fucker is tryna kill me!_

After catching his breath, Renji made his way to the already hot tub. He dipped a finger to test it. It was perfect. Renji shed his filthy clothes and left them in a hamper by the door. He took a long soak, washing his entire body and his hair. It felt amazing. After his bath, he dryed his hair and brushed his teeth. Finally looking like the normally handsome man, Renji felt even better, still hungry, but better. Almost on que, someone knocked on the door with fresh clothes. It was a suit that fit him like a glove.

At dinner Renji ate like a pig, not even respectfully. Byakuya looked disgusted so to interupt his 'eating' (if you could call it that), he started with buisness.

"Well Mr. Abarai, it is to my understanding that you are at a financial impass." He said sipping his wine.

Renji swallowed the wad of food in his mouth greedily before answering, "Yes sir, I, uh, I'm going through a few personal issues right now and I need the money bad."

"Mmhm, I won't beat around the bush Renji, I need more _distributors_ if you understand my meaning." Byakuya stopped nursing his wine and was looking the redhead straight in the eyes.

Renji gulped, he knew what Byakuya meant, he just didn't know if he should do it. Thoughts of his unborn child ran through his mind. Maybe adoption would be better, one less mouth to feed. Regaurdless of his kid, he needed money for all his debts. It didn't take him long to accept the offer. From that moment, Renji's life was changed forever.

End flashback

"Daddy!" Sasuke called getting his father's attention.

"Eh?" Renji came back to reality. He hadn't noticed that he was holding the spoon just out of reach of Sasuke's little hand.

"Hungy!" The little brunette cried leaning out even further to try and get the delicious oaty goodness.

Renji blinked a few times then looked at his hand, "Oh right, your hungry ain't cha?"

Sasuke nodded eagerly. The redhead sat the bowl in front of his boy and watched him eat. "Slow down man it's not goin' anywhere," Renji chuckled petting his head. "We gotta visit daddy's boss today, alright." He said stroking the little reddish-brown head.

"Bap bap!" He answered with a serious look on his face. It made Renji bust out in a fit of laughter.

After breakfast, Renji and Sasuke showered and dressed. Renji made sure to dress in nice clothes considering his boss' hatred for dirty attire. Since Sasuke didn't have anything really nice, Renji dressed him in simple overalls and sneakers. He combed both their hair and gave Sasuke a kiss on the forehead when he was done. "Lookin' sharp kiddo!" He compilmented. The toddler giggled and ran from the bathroom.

Renji looked himself over and decided he was presentable. A simple suit with no tie and a maroon silk shirt. It was roomy enough so he could move easily. He did his hair in a low braid that complimented his outfit well. Deciding he was ready, he found Sasuke and got his bag, which was still in the middle of the living room from the night before. "Let's go!"

It didn't take long to get to Byakuya's home, only about half an hour. Thankfully Sasuke had Pochi this time so he wasn't crying or paying attention to Renji's choice of music. He loved American music, one of his favorite bands was Green Day; right now '21 Guns' was on an endless loop, the redhead was sure Sasuke knew it by heart already.

When they reached the enormous mansion Sasuke had started to cry for reasons unknown. Even though Byakuya was a parent himself, he still hated crying. The elder Kutchiki had a daughter a little older than Sasuke, her name was Hisana.

Renji lifted the sobbing toddler from the confinding carseat and let him rest on his shoulder. The redhead bounced him in a quick attempt to silence him before entering his employer's home. "Calm down Sa, please, you know Mr. Kutchiki hates crying." This only fueled the baby's sobs even more.

"Renji, we can hear _him_ all the way upstairs." A young boy whispered from the door. It was Rikichi one of Byakuya's servents.

"I know but he just won't stop crying! I don' even know what happened!" Renji pleaded.

"I'll take him, you just go inside, Mr. Kutchiki is in his office." They young man said taking Sasuke from his father's strong embrace.

"Right, thanks Rikichi." Renji said. Rikichi just waved him away while he patted the screaming toddler's back.

The tattooed redhead entered the near silent mansion. It was funished in expensive tapastries and lavish artwork. It was a place Renji knew all to well. He'd cut coke on some of the very coffee tables he drank tea from. Making his way to the back office Byakuya most liked, Renji felt something was differnt, something just didn't feel right.

"Abarai, so nice of you to join us." The familiar deep voice said as he walked into the office.

"Sir," Renji greeted him with a bow, not acknowledging the man sitting across from his boss. He didn't look like Byakuya's normal clientel. The man was dressed in a pure white suit with equally white dress shoes. In addition to the man sitting across from his boss, there were two young men standing on either side of the man. One was a tall, silver-haired fox-faced man and the other a dark-skinned man with braids and sunglasses. All in all they were a weird group.

"Hi Pineapple!" Renji's leg was attacked by an energetic two year old with big blue eyes. She had a toothy smile and raven-colored hair, just like her mother.

"Hey Hisana, wassup?" The redhead asked picking up the little girl.

Hisana hugged him tightly around his neck and squeezed, she loved seeing Renji. "I'm okay! Where's Sa?"

Before Renji could tell her that Sasuke was outside Byakuya interrupted their happy greeting. "Hisana that's enough, Renji and I have buisness to attend to so please do not disturb us with your childish antics." He stated coldly glaring in their direction.

The little girl's head dropped and he smile faded quickly at hearing those words. "Sorry daddy..." Hisana apoligized as Renji set her down. She quickly gathered a small pink bunny and three little dolls and dragged them out of the office. Renji hated the way his boss treated her sometimes, she was only two, he didn't have to be such a dick when asking her to leave.

"Now then, onto buisness," Byakuya started. "Renji, this is Mr. Sousuke Aizen," He pointed to the man in the chair. "He would like to become our associate, taking over the west side of town. While this is a desision I am to make souly on my own, I would enjoy hearing your opinion on the matter." Byakuya uttered folding his hands.

If Renji said anything his boss didn't like he could kiss this job goodbye. Organizing his words carefully, Renji gave the only answer he wouldn't be ridiculed for, "I will follow whatever disision you see fit sir."

"...Good Abarai. Now with that settled, why don't we get to the merchandice."

This time Aizen spoke. "Good idea Kutchiki-san; we have our own suppliers of course, and you would get a 20% share in all of the earnings..."

Renji zooned out after his opinion was voiced. He really wanted to go home now, actually, he wanted to eat, something he'd forgotten to do that morning. He blamed his new friend for that. Shuuhei Hisagi, the man who looked amazing in a suit, also the guy he had a date with in two days. Renji had always been curious about his sexuality and only recently realized he was bisexual. Images of Shuuhei ran through his mind; he felt a little awkward daydreaming about a man he barely knew inside his boss' office.

"Abarai!" Byakuya hollered getting Renji's attention. The redhead snapped out of his daydream and quickly turned his attention toward his employer. "I said you are excussed for the day, please take your leave." The raven-headed man asserted.

With a bow Renji quickly scuffled out of the office, he could hear the soft chuckles coming from the office. _I'm a fuckin' moron!_ He thought. The next task at hand was finding Sasuke and getting the hell out of there. It didn't take long to find him, Sasuke was with Rikichi and Hisana in the kitchen. His son sat in the young servant's lap eating a cookie while the little girl sat in a chair next to him sucking on a juice box.

Renji was greeted with a cheerful "Hi daddy!" from Sasuke and an energetic wave from Hisana and Rikichi. The redhead pulled up a chair and sat next to Hisana who scooted closer to him.

"So how'd it go Renji?" Rikichi asked handing Sasuke a juice box.

"Uh, coulda gone better..." He responded trailing off. Hisana had moved into his lap and was now leaning back into his muscular frame. Hisana really liked Renji.

"Eh, don't worry, Mr. Kutchiki is in a bad mood today, it'll be okay next time." Rikichi assured with his normal toothy grin.

Renji half smiled, Rikichi was always possitive, no matter what the situation. "Yeah, I hope so," Renji checked his watch, it was almost 3. "Well we should get goin', I still gotta get somethin' to eat." Renji sighed. Rikichi nodded and switched Sasuke for Hisana, both started crying. Before Byakuya could come out with the 'WTF' face Renji gathered Sasuke and his things and left the mansion.


End file.
